North Dakota |
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| Entered the Union: Nov. 2, 1889 (39) | Capital: Bismarck | ||
| Origin of Name: named for the Dakota Indian tribe. Dakota is a Sioux word meaning friends or allies. | |||
| State Nicknames:Peace Garden State • Rough Rider State • Flickertail State | |||
| State Motto: Liberty and union, now and forever: one and inseparable | |||
| State Tree: American Elm | State Flower: Prairie Rose | ||
| State Bird: Western Meadowlark | State Horse: Nakota | ||
| State Song: “North Dakota Hymn" | State Fruit: Chokeberry | ||
| National Grassland: 1 • State Parks: 18 | |||
| Famous for: The Badlands, Theodore Roosevelt National Park, International Peace Garden | |||
| Famous North Dakotans: Lynn Anderson (singer), Angie Dickinson (actress), Phil Jackson (basketball player/coach), Louis L'Amour (novelist), Casper Oimoen (skier), Cliff "Fido" Purpur (hockey), Eric Sevareid (TV commentator), Edward K. Thompson (Life magazine editor), Tommy Tucker • Lawrence Welk (band leaders) | |||
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| North Dakota was explored in 1738–1740 by French Canadians led by Sieur de la Verendrye. In 1803, the U.S. acquired most of North Dakota from France in the Louisiana Purchase. | ||||||||||||
| Lewis and Clark explored the region in 1804–1806, and the first settlements were made at Pembina in 1812 by Scottish and Irish families while this area was still in dispute between the U.S. and Great Britain. | ||||||||||||
| In 1818, the U.S. obtained the northeast part of North Dakota by treaty with Great Britain and took possession of Pembina in 1823. However, the region remained largely unsettled until the construction of the railroad in the 1870s and 1880s. | ||||||||||||
| North Dakota is the most rural of all the states, with farms covering more than 90% of the land. North Dakota ranks first in the nation's production of spring and durum wheat | ||||||||||||
| The International Peace Garden straddles the international Boundary between North Dakota and the Canadian province of Manitoba. It honors the long friendship between the two nations.This 2,300-acre garden plants 100,000 flowers annually and features a Peace Chapel as well as an 18-foot floral clock. In 1956 the North Dakota Motor Vehicle Department placed the words “Peace Garden State” on license plates; the name proved so popular that it was formally adopted by the 1957 legislature. | ||||||||||||
| North Dakota grows more sunflowers than any other state. | ||||||||||||
| The town of Rugby is the geographical center of North America. A tall stone obelisk marks the location. | ||||||||||||
| North Dakota has more registered vehicles than it has residents. | ||||||||||||
| New Salem, North Dakota is home to Salem Sue, the world’s largest Holstein Cow. Standing 38 feet tall, Sue is 50 feet long and weighs some six tons. | ||||||||||||
| Jamestown boasts the world’s largest buffalo at 26 feet tall and 36 feet long and weighs some sixty tons. | ||||||||||||
| Theodore Roosevelt was sent to live in North Dakota for health reasons before he became president. The name Roughrider State refers to the First U.S. Volunteer Cavalry that Theodore Roosevelt organized to fight in the Spanish-American War. | ||||||||||||
| Theodore Roosevelt National Park in western North Dakota is the only national park named for a person. As president, Theodore Roosevelt was instrumental in founding the national park system. | ||||||||||||
| In 1982 Rutland went into the "Guinness Book of World Records" with the cooking and eating of the World's Largest Hamburger -- 3591 pounds. | ||||||||||||
| If North Dakota seceded from the Union, it would be the world's third strongest nuclear power. | ||||||||||||
| North Dakota hosts almost fifty local and regional rodeos that attract hundreds of cowboys each year. | ||||||||||||
| It is illegal to lie down and fall asleep with your shoes on in North Dakota. | ||||||||||||
| North Dakota is the only state in the nation to never have an earthquake. | ||||||||||||
| The parking meter was invented in North Dakota. | ||||||||||||
| North Dakota's Ethnic Roots: German 43.9%, Norwegian 30.1%, Irish 7.7%, Native American 5%, Swedish 5%. | ||||||||||||
| Religion in North Dakota: 84% Christian (51% Protestant, 30% Catholic, 2% Other), 3% No Religion, 2% Muslim, 1% LDS, 1% Jehovah's Witness, 1% Buddhist, 1% Other Religions | ||||||||||||
| North Dakota has the highest number of millionaires per capita than any other state. | ||||||||||||
| The coast line around Lake Sakawea in North Dakota is longer than the California coastline along the Pacific Ocean. |
At a Glance
North Dakota Quick Facts
| Entered the Union | Nov. 2, 1889 (39) |
|---|---|
| Capital | Bismarck |
| Nickname | Peace Garden State • Rough Rider State • Flickertail State |
| State Bird | Western Meadowlark |
| State Flower | Prairie Rose |
| State Tree | American Elm |
New for 2026
More North Dakota Facts & Photos
North Dakota was one of the first states to adopt an official state fossil: Teredo petrified wood, named in 1967. The wood drifted into a shallow sea about 60 million years ago and was riddled by shipworms before turning to stone.
The KVLY television mast near Blanchard, completed in 1963 at 2,063 feet, was the first structure on Earth to top 2,000 feet and stood as the world's tallest for more than a decade.
Fort Union Trading Post, built in 1828 near where the Yellowstone River meets the Missouri, was the most important fur trading post on the upper Missouri for nearly 40 years. The Assiniboine and six other Northern Plains tribes traded more than 25,000 buffalo robes there every year.
White Butte, the state's highest point at 3,506 feet, rises out of the badlands country of southwestern North Dakota.
Along the Enchanted Highway between Gladstone and Regent, artist Gary Greff has been building giant scrap metal sculptures since 1989. His 110-foot "Geese in Flight" entered Guinness World Records in 2002 as the largest in the world.
Voices of America
In Their Own Words
"Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports ... Reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail to the exclusion of religious principle."
Farewell Address
"Far and away the best prize that life has to offer is the chance to work hard at work worth doing."
"We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."
Last updated: July 2026